Lexington, North Carolina's Triple-Certified Master Personal Trainer, Corrective Exercise Specialist, and National Spokesman for the American Council on Exercise, shares his years of professional fitness experience with those folks who are: (1)New (or returning) to the Health and Fitness World, (2)Overcoming Health Issues and Physical Challenges (including structural issues), or (3) Desiring a Personalized Health and Fitness program designed for adults over 30 years of age.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

My certifying agency (The American Council on Exercise) came out with an article this month reconfirming the latest data on recommended amounts of time being active

(exercising/moderate movement)per week per desired results. It also pointed out a few more interestingstatistics...that "33% of Americans never exercise, and 55% never engage in

vigorous activity (CDC2010). I think it is striking that these numbers very nearly mirror the statistics that show 25-30% of Americans are obese, and another 50% are considered overweight!

Although any activity above and beyond what you are currently doing is a definite step in the right direction, it is recommended that 10-20 minutes moderately challenging (graded on a scale of "1-10", with "1" being "no challenge", and "10" being "all out"...working between a "4" and "6")activity(exercise) 5 or more days a week is the minimum recommended to begin seeing small improvements in general health.

balancing, greater energy, improved general functioning of the body, etc) a minimum of 30 minutes 5 days per week of moderately challenging activity is recommended.

And for those that are interested in significant body-fat/weight reduction (more than 10 pounds), 60 minutes of

(combined) moderate intensity activity at least 5 days per week is recommended.

All of us in the "industry" tend to agree that just getting folks moving can be challenging in the beginning.

I liken it to trying to pushing a stalled car across a flat paved parking lot...it takes a lot of effort to get that car moving, but once you have it moving it becomes a bit less challenging to just "keep it moving". And of course if we let the car slow down, it takes a little more effort to get it started again. I realize that some are pushing VW's and others are pushing SUV's, but once you've gotten some momentum built up and (you begin to see, and feel

those great changes that everyone talks about) working for you

it becomes a bit more rewarding to stay in motion.

And to throw in a small doses of reality...if you expect the process to be (or become) "easy" you are simply kidding yourself...

"if it's not challenging, you're not changing"!

A little more "reality-check" information for those looking to reduce their body-fat% (weight) is

to come to terms with how many extra "calories" your body has stored up for you, so you can start making more realistic choices to take you where you'd rather be. (1) Science has determined that one pound of body-fat is created from a stored excess of 3,500 calories.

(2) So, if you are, for example, 50 pounds heavier than you'd like to be...your body has stored up a whopping 175,000 excess calories (50X's3,500)!!

Those numbers can be downright scary (and disheartening) at first! But the first step is to "get real" about

where you are, and also with about how long it's actually going to take to get to where you'd like to be! Then, start educating yourself on all the ways you can "burn-off" those stored up calories, by choosing activities that you can work in throughout your day (not just at the gym) that will give you the most "bang for your buck"! For example, doing 10 minutes (straight) of ab crunches will only burn about 50 calories (and will NOT burn those specific calories stored in the belly anyway), but choosing 10 minutes of moderately challenging time on the tread-mill will burn off over 100 calories (the eliptical...even more)!

Be kind to yourself...realize you didn't get where you are over night (and I've yet to find anyone that actually did it on purpose!), and getting back to where you'd like to be won't happen over night either...but let that be okay, it's really all about creating a healthier lifestyle (I know you've heard that before) and letting

your new lifestyle do a lot of the "work" for you!

I've included an additional "page" listing some common activities and the amounts of calories they burn...check 'em out! If you'll start adding some into your life, you will begin to see a "cumulative" effect taking place that will begin taking you to your Health and Fitness Goals!

Bobby M is considered by his peers, and other Professionals, to be the "go-to" person for questions or concerns about Health and Fitness issues and challenges.

Bobby Morrow

ACE Certified Personal Trainer Lexington, N.C.

Bobby M's Health and Fitness Qualifications:

(1) American Council on Exercise (ACE) Certified Personal Trainer.(2)National Exercise and Sports Trainers Association (NESTA)Certified Personal Trainer(3) Expert Rating Certified Personal Trainer(4) NESTA Certified Circuit Training Instructor(5) International Fitness Association (IFA) Sports Nutritionist(6) NESTA Certified Functional Training Specialist(7) Approved by AARP to train their Membership(8) AHA Certified CPR and AED Qualified(9) Over 11 years experience Certified in the industry(10) Has helped over 2,000 folks in attaining their goals(11) Member of "Exercise is Medicine"(12) National Spokesman for The American Council on Exercise (ACE)(13) Member of the IDEA Health and Fitness Association